


from season to season

by nsykdk



Series: subahokke week 2020 [5]
Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Falling In Love, Fireworks, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Pining, SubaHokkeWeek2020, kinda slow burn if you think about it hard enough, shrine au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:28:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24639163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nsykdk/pseuds/nsykdk
Summary: In the cover of the hills, a shrine lies tucked away.Within, a quiet, pure love blooms...[ subahokke week 2020 day 5 || god/follower ]
Relationships: Akehoshi Subaru/Hidaka Hokuto
Series: subahokke week 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1781359
Comments: 9
Kudos: 35





	from season to season

**Author's Note:**

> for subahokke week day 5, prompt god/follower! the full list of prompts can be found [here on twitter](https://twitter.com/subahokkeweek) and it's run by my good friend mao! [they're on ao3 here!](https://archiveofourown.org/users/winter_mao_flower)
> 
> this au is so precious to me... yeah. this is something i'm really happy about and i like it a lot!! i'm so excited about this it's such a beautiful au and i'm really proud of it!
> 
> i took the title from [shikioriori ni tayutoite (swaying from season to season)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7sr5zv1EkI) by after the rain! the song kinda fits the piece as well

_A thousand years ago, there was a bustling seaside town by the port. The residents of the town were merry and jolly, and spent their days in peace._

_One summer, the seaside town fell ill to a ravaging sickness. No doctor nor priest could find a cure to the sickness that plagued the town, and as the months of sickness drew on, the residents of the town began to despair._

_Now, there lived a young man with his beloved wife and his beloved child, in a cottage behind a shrine in the hills beside the town. This young man was fortunate, for he had not caught the sickness. Every day, the young man brought a shiny coin to the shrine and offered it to the fortune deity that resided within its walls, and prayed for the health of his dear wife and child._

_The child grew up healthy and strong, but one unfortunate day, as he was passing the shrine, he neglected to pay his respects to the deity. Without the blessing of the fortune deity, the young man's child fell ill._

_For days, the young man prayed and prayed at the shrine, but the child showed no signs of recovery. His beloved child grew weaker and weaker, until Death came knocking on his door._

_"The time has come for thy child," Death spoke, and the young man and his wife, who loved their child dearly, trembled in fear. They took the child to the shrine and placed him on the altar to the fortune deity to pray._

_"Fear not," the fortune deity said to the young man, "for you have prayed every day to my shrine, and I shall grant you a single wish. If you devote your child to my shrine, I will ensure all traces of the sickness disappears from this town."_

_The next day, when the town's residents woke, there was no trace of sickness remaining. The residents rejoiced, for they no longer feared for their lives. However, in the months that followed, a rumour spread that the young man who lived in the mountains had summoned the Devil by sacrificing his child, and the Devil had caused the sickness, for he had not once been ill._

_And thus, the young man and his wife were condemned to death. The shrine of the fortune deity was closed, and a lavish new shrine was built in its stead, and the residents of the town brought offerings to it and showered praise upon it for defeating the Devil._

_And so ends the tale of the young man, his beloved wife and his dear child._

* * *

_"Hocchan, remember, don't go off the path. Never go off the path."_

* * *

"Hey," six-year-old Hokuto calls, "come out."

The boy behind the _torii_ gate can't be much older than him. He peeks out, somewhat shyly, and after a moment, shuffles out of the shadow of the gate. He has orange hair, and when the sun shines on it, it glows golden; and blue eyes wide as Grandma's teacups. There's a little ball in his hands, covered in dirt and leaves.

"Will you play ball with me?" He sounds hopeful.

"No. I have to go back to Papa." Hokuto turns to leave, but the boy dashes up to him, all pouty and teary-eyed. "Oi! I said I have to go!"

"Please! Nobody plays ball with me! I'm so lonely..."

Hokuto frowns at him. He's paid his respects, given the shrine a coin, and taken much too long with that as well. Papa would be waiting for him, and-

"Pleaaaaase," the boy begs, tugging on his sleeve. "Just for a few minutes!"

"All right," Hokuto says, reluctantly, "but only for a few minutes."

* * *

"Will you come back to play with me?" The boy beams up at him, teeth and all. "We had so much fun!"

Hokuto feels a smile tugging at his lips. "Yeah. What's your name?"

"My name's Subaru! Akehoshi Subaru!"

"I'm Hidaka Hokuto. I'll see you around, Akehoshi."

* * *

"Oh, Hocchan, where were you?" Seiya rushes over to him as soon as he presents himself back at the bigger shrine. "We were so worried about you! Where did you go?"

"I found a shrine, Papa!" Hokuto points over at the woods, where he'd scrambled out of the overgrown path. Recalling his afternoon, he smiles. "There was a shrine over there, and there was a boy at the shrine, and we played ball together!"

Seiya shakes his head, crouching down. "Silly Hocchan, there isn't another shrine around here. This is the only shrine in this town!"

"But-"

"Now now, you probably went around in a circle and found yourself back here. Let's go home, okay? And let's forget the thing about the other shrine."

* * *

"Papa said there wasn't such thing as a second shrine around here."

Subaru catches the ball and holds it, frowns. "Your Papa must be wrong!"

Hokuto looks down, thinking about the lie he'd told his parents to come to the shrine. "Are you sure?"

"Well, if there wasn't a second shrine, then we wouldn't be playing ball together," Subaru says, as confidently as a six-year-old can appear. "And, if we didn't play ball together the first time, then you wouldn't be here again!"

Hokuto reaches his hands out, and Subaru throws him the ball with a smile. "You're right."

Subaru runs up to him afterwards, holding out his pinky finger. "Let's keep it a secret, okay? Just me and Hokke!"

* * *

"It's spring already," Subaru complains, brandishing his broom. Over the past ten years, his figure has filled out attractively, but he hasn't changed a single bit apart from that; sporting the same childishly wide blue eyes and glowing orange hair and wide, brilliant smile. " _Hokke!_ Listen to me when I'm complaining!"

"You complained about the petals yesterday too," Hokuto sighs. There's papers spread over the little table in Subaru's little cottage - how he manages to live in this tiny space while simultaneously filling the entire shrine with life astounds Hokuto to no end. "And I told you, I have homework to do."

"You're _so_ mean," Subaru trills as he sits on the worn tatami, pouting. "Hurry up and finish your homework."

"You'll ruin your hakama if you sit like that."

Subaru gapes, scrambling to stand up. Sure enough, when Hokuto glances over, there are creases all over his bright red hakama. "You were _so_ much nicer when you were a kid! Meanie Hokke! I'm gonna go and sweep the petals instead of sitting with you!"

Hokuto watches him go, feeling a gentle smile tugging at his lips.

* * *

If there's anyone who can read people like a book, it's probably Isara Mao.

"Hokuto, you've been a bit distracted recently," he's saying, over their bentos in the cramped classroom of their high school. "Are things all right?"

"I'm fine," Hokuto responds, but his mind is a little way over the hill, and Makoto waves a chopstick in his face.

"Earth to Hidaka-kun..."

Mao chuckles. "Are you in love or someth- whoa!"

Hokuto _chokes_ , almost spitting out his rice. He hasn't even considered putting a name to the feelings he's begun to harbour, because everything he does with Subaru is so natural and perfect that they'd never needed to name anything at all.

But when he thinks about being in love with Subaru, it settles with him in an easy way, like it'd been natural, too, to fall for his closest friend.

"Don't worry about it!" Mao claps both him and Makoto on the back once Hokuto has gulped down half a bottle of water and the flush on his cheeks has gone down. He leans in, making a huddle over their desks. "Like I told Makoto the other day, you should invite them to the summer festival!"

_"I- Isara-kun,"_ Makoto splutters; his turn to colour brightly. "I haven't even asked Anzu yet!"

"Great time to do so, then," Mao says, grinning. "Good luck, you two."

* * *

It's a rainy day, and Hokuto's left his umbrella in the overhang outside; changing into dry socks while Subaru fusses over the hem of his hakama, which had gotten soaked while he'd been cleaning the shrine that morning.

When they're both drier and comfortable, Subaru leans against the table. "Why do you have homework every single day?"

"I don't control how much homework I get," he sighs, as he grabs another piece of lined paper. "Why don't _you_ have school?"

Subaru shrugs. "Can't leave the shrine, remember?"

"Right." Hokuto begins to write, Subaru's warm figure resting beside him. When he glances over, Subaru is always watching him expectantly, gaze soft, like a puppy silently begging to go out and play.

It's just how things are: Hokuto quietly working in the cottage, Subaru doing his duties; days spent laughing over shared onigiri, days spent quietly in each other's company. Hokuto loves it just like that, the simplicity and honesty, the comfortable bond they have.

(Strange, Hokuto thinks, how Subaru's been doing this for years but he's only felt this strange fluttering in his stomach recently.)

"I brought some snacks," Hokuto says quietly, after countless glances over at Subaru and deciding that perhaps work won't get done after all, "do you want to share them?"

And Subaru's face splits into a grin, and Hokuto's heart simply melts. "Yeah!"

"Hey," he says, trying to sound as casual as he can while Subaru pulls out the snacks triumphantly, "what do you think about the summer festival?"

* * *

"I brought a fan," Hokuto announces as he ducks into the cottage, shoes neatly lined outside. Subaru's lying on the floor, beaming up at Hokuto as he sets the fan down. "And popsicles. You like the apple flavoured ones, right?"

"Yeah," Subaru breathes, and Hokuto wonders how he can still smile even in deathly hot weather. He's not in his red hakama today, opting for a plain shirt and shorts. "You bought apple ones for me?"

"Here." He throws one at Subaru, opens another for himself. "I finished all my summer homework yesterday, what do you want to do?"

Subaru hums, takes a large bite of his popsicle. "Tell me about the summer festival, Hokke?"

His eyes are bright, a beautiful sky blue as Hokuto talks; smile playing on lips that Hokuto just wants to lean over and press against his own. There isn't much that Hokuto doesn't want to kiss, though; his cheeks tinted with pink and his glowing sunset curls and the spot between his eyes that he scrunches up when he pouts. He wants to feel Subaru's hair tickling the underside of his chin and his laugh rumbling against Hokuto's chest, and, at the end of all of it, his eyelashes brushing Hokuto's cheeks as they kiss.

(He's so far gone, Hokuto thinks, as he gazes at Subaru lying in the wake of the fan, feeling his heart swell and beat in his chest.)

* * *

The shrine is lit in dim lanternlight at night, an old oil lantern that he's seen Subaru cleaning and refilling every now and then. He's never really asked how Subaru gets the oil for the lantern, but it's just something Subaru seems to always have stored somewhere.

"Akehoshi," he calls, and sure enough, a little orange figure appears from the cottage. "Come grab the food!"

Subaru's by his side almost immediately, smile lighting up the shrine as he grabs the plastic bags. "Wow! You really brought so much food!"

"Let me go and pay respects first, and then we can eat together, all right?" Hokuto watches as Subaru scuttles away, humming something softly to himself, before turning up the steps.

He shows Subaru everything he'd bought later, from takoyaki and yakisoba and meat skewers of every variety to cotton candy and crepes and roasted chestnuts. And Subaru smiles up at him, with sauce on cheeks bulging with food and Hokuto doesn't think he'd give anything to be in love with anyone else.

When they're stuffed, Hokuto leads Subaru to the courtyard, and presses a little box into his hands.

Subaru's eyes widen. "Sparklers?"

"I don't know if we can see the fireworks from here," Hokuto admits, gesturing out at the woods around them. "So I brought them."

Hokuto lights the sparklers one by one, watching as Subaru joyfully spins and dances with the little sparks.

"Don't you want to light your own, Hokke?" Subaru drops a used one into the plastic bag of trash, reaching for another from the box. There's a handful left, but Hokuto shakes his head as he lights the one Subaru is holding.

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" Subaru laughs, twirling as he presses it into Hokuto's hand. "Here, take this one!"

"Ake-"

He's cut off by Subaru's gasp as a loud _bang_ erupts, and a shower of lights rain down in the sky as his sleeve is tugged. "Fireworks! Look at the _fireworks_ , Hokke!"

"I'm watching," Hokuto breathes, but the only thing he can see is Subaru, bathed in the rainbow lights of the fireworks; his eyes sparkling and shining, and his smile, beautiful and bright.

"Isn't it pretty?"

"Yeah." The used sparkler slips from his fingers as he reaches for Subaru's cheek and leans in. "Yeah, you are."

It's over in a moment, but Hokuto holds the kiss forever; memorising the way Subaru smiles into the kiss, the way their lips fit perfectly together, the way his heart soars and blooms like a firework in his chest.

Subaru's eyes are wide when Hokuto pulls away, lips pink and parted just slightly and so, so beautiful in the light. It'd probably sound lame from his lips, unlike the practiced lines he's recited to Subaru over and over, but he wants to say them.

"I love you," Hokuto says, before he can stop himself. "I love you, Akehoshi, I-"

And then Subaru's cheeks flare pink, and he's smiling so brightly and fumbling for Hokuto's hands in the almost-darkness.

"I've been waiting," he whispers, leaning in to kiss Hokuto again, "'cause I've loved you since forever, Hokke."

* * *

"Hokke," Subaru giggles, "kiss me again."

They're lying on the tatami, the fan blowing in their faces, but Hokuto only feels a bubbling lightness as he kisses Subaru again. Summer break is ending soon, he reminds himself, so he doesn't have much time to spend idly kissing his boyfriend as he'd like.

Gently, he tucks Subaru into his side, letting out a soft sigh as he brushes his lips against Subaru's forehead.

"I really didn't expect you to be super affectionate," he says, surprised, breath warm against Hokuto's neck. "You're always so grumpy and frowny."

"And?"

"It's cute." Subaru laughs, tinkling and light on the breeze. Hokuto kisses him again in retaliation, cheeks blazing.

* * *

Autumn sets in with a fresh bout of complaints, a forest full of leaves to sweep and another mountain of homework. It isn't as if this is unusual, though, because even though they're dating now, nothing much has changed at all. There is, of course, the kissing, the intertwining of fingers; little things that somehow mean the entire world. But Subaru complains just like usual, and Hokuto berates him just like usual, and then they make up just like usual.

Hokuto finds himself sniffling by the time he finishes his homework on one of these days, wrapping his blazer closer around him as he peeks out of the cottage to find Subaru. He's dusting off something in the inner shrine, and smiles when he sees Hokuto.

"Hey. Going home so early?" He seems a little disappointed when Hokuto nods.

"I might be getting sick," he explains, shivering as another gust of wind blows by. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it!" A simple smile touches Subaru's cheeks as he leans up to place a quick peck on Hokuto's lips. "Take care."

Sure enough, he gets sick the next day, a burning fever that seems to have brought hell literally into his body. Everything is terrible and woozy and _hot_ , and Hokuto barely makes it a metre out of his bedroom door in preparation for school before Grandma shoos him back inside with porridge and a towel for his forehead.

Hokuto spends the next week or so in a haze of medicine and blankets and stifling heat, curled up on his bed with soup to stare at the forest in the hills. Makoto and Mao bring him whatever homework he's missed at school, and he trawls through them tiredly, even without Subaru to bother him. It shouldn't be so different, just like the days he doesn't go to the shrine, but it's _different_ somehow now that half of his fever-induced waking thoughts are of Subaru and his sunshine smile and feather-light kiss.

Grandma had let him move around in the house once his fever had broke, and it's one of those days where he sits at the kitchen table with porridge and sighs gently into the dull kitchen, thinking about better places he could be. It's peaceful, though.

"You're never at home these days," Grandma says, as he brings his empty bowl and spoon to the sink to wash. "Have you been well at school, Hokuto?"

"Yes," he replies, glancing over to see her at the door.

"Here, let me wash those for you." She smiles, gently taking the bowl from his hands. "Sit, dear."

So Hokuto sits, and Grandma returns a moment later with a bowl of fruit that she offers to Hokuto.

"You look happier," she says after a while of scrutinising his expression as he eats.

Hokuto blinks. He hasn't noticed this, all caught up in school and spending time with Subaru. "I do?"

Grandma smiles gently, sensing his confusion. "You look just like Seiya when he was young and in love."

* * *

The moment Hokuto is well enough to leave the house, he hobbles all the way to the shrine. It's a school day, and so he stumbles up the hill, shrouded in an extra layer and a mask both for the warmth and so the locals don't recognise him. He begins to regret it as the sun beats down on his back, the crunch of leaves underfoot sounding silent. Thoughts muddy, Hokuto pushes his way through the shortcut and stumbles into the clearing.

"Hokke!" Even Subaru's voice sounds cloudy, and immediately he's there, hands on Hokuto's shoulders. "Oh my god. You look terrible."

A pounding begins in the back of Hokuto's mind as he raises his head to meet Subaru's worried gaze. "Akehoshi..."

"I missed you," Subaru says. "But you're still sick, Hokke."

"I..." Hokuto trails off, mind blanking. There's a feeling of thin fog over his thoughts. "I wanted to apologise for... not seeing you?"

Subaru sighs and gently threads his fingers into Hokuto's. "You don't have to apologise for that, silly Hokke. Now, go home."

"But-"

"I'll still be here when you get better!" Subaru laughs, like it hadn't been obvious from the start. "Come back when you're rested up, okay?"

So Hokuto nods, and begins to head back through the woods. The haze in his mind seems to thicken with each step he takes, and by the time he's back on the main road, the pavement is wavering under his feet. He catches his breath at a corner and the ground seems to swim, the heat from the sun and all around him rising in thick, blankety waves.

The last thing Hokuto remembers before it goes dark is that he'd forgotten to pay his respects at the shrine.

* * *

When Hokuto wakes, it's to an uncomfortable grogginess. He's back in his room, in his bed, and when he tries to get up, a whole brass band screeches in his skull. Someone must have carried him back after he'd collapsed, somewhere on the road home, and-

"You're awake," comes Grandma's kindly voice from the foot of the bed, sounding rather relieved. "Seiya is worried sick over you, you know."

A moment later, the door bursts open and Seiya rushes in. "Hocchan! Thank god you're awake!"

"Father-"

Seiya shushes him, kneeling down beside Hokuto. "Are you feeling unwell? How is your head? Does anything hurt? If y-"

"Seiya." Grandma places a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head. "Don't overwhelm him." She turns to Hokuto. "You were saying something when you were collapsed, do you remember what it was?"

"I don't remember."

"This is really important, Hocchan." Seiya frowns. "How do you know the name Akehoshi?"

A feeling of dread twists in the pit of Hokuto's stomach. How had Seiya known that name?

"I don't know that name," Hokuto lies, quietly, "but why?"

Seiya stares at him for a moment longer, as guilt swirls through him at the lie.

"It might have been the fever," Grandma says, finally, cutting the tension. She guides Seiya to the door, ushering him out quietly. When he's gone, she turns back towards Hokuto. "Once you're well, you should consider reading into the history of this town."

With that, she smiles sadly and closes the door, leaving Hokuto even more confused than before.

* * *

Hokuto's grand plan to enter the library unnoticed fails with the jingle on the back of the library door that he'd failed to notice. To his defense, he rarely ever steps foot into the library: it's usually home to either Eichi or Tsumugi or Tori or some combination of the three, and he definitely does _not_ want their pesky noses in his business.

"My, how rare to see you here!" With a kind smile, Tsumugi looks up from the pile of books on his table. The lesser of the three evils, Hokuto supposes. "What can I help you with today?"

"I'm looking for any books on the history of the town." Miffed despite so, Hokuto watches intensely as the librarian's expression morphs from surprise to confusion to curiosity.

"We don't have a lot," Tsumugi says, slowly, but rises from the desk anyway, leading Hokuto to the back of the library. "Is there any reason why you're looking for them today, Hidaka-kun?"

"My grandmother asked me to do some research on her behalf." It isn't untrue, but Hokuto doesn't want Tsumugi knowing more than he needs to. Whatever Seiya has against Subaru, at the very least, he doesn't intend to spill.

"What a nice grandchild you are," Tsumugi comments, as they round a corner into an older part of the library, with old wooden shelves and the smell of paper, out of the afternoon sun's reach. He points to a shelf tucked next to a conveniently-placed desk. "There's only these shelves for records and that one for history books. If there's anything specific you're looking for-"

"Thank you, Aoba-senpai. I can make do by myself."

Tsumugi smiles his gentle smile, seeming to take the hint. "Then, if you need anything, I'll be at the desk."

Hokuto dives into the books as soon as Tsumugi leaves, bringing the largest book to the desk and beginning to flip through pages of settlements and seaside conquests and mountain explorations. He doesn't really know what he's searching for, or when; flipping through newspaper clippings and handwritten notes and old scripts for anything that catches his eye. By pure chance, he finds a small, hand-bound script in archaic Japanese with a hint of a myth surrounding a second shrine in the hills. Gathering everything he can find about myths and temples and shrines, Hokuto spreads them out on the table.

From there, it's much easier to find out more about the myth about the man living in the hills and the fortune deity of the shrine. He reads and rereads the myth in a handful of books both handwritten and printed, until he finds, with stomach-twisting horror, a name he recognises.

_"Can't leave the shrine, remember?"_

Hokuto stands, book still clutched in his hands. His blood runs cold.

* * *

He reaches the clearing just as the sun is setting, orange glow dipping in the sky, his legs burning from exertion, chest heaving.

"Akehoshi?"

Subaru appears from the shrine as he calls breathlessly, expression brightening as he runs towards Hokuto. "Hokke!"

Now that he's here, Hokuto feels his mouth go dry. How does one tell their boyfriend that they've just found his records from a thousand years ago? But Subaru saves him the words, placing his warm hands over Hokuto's as he sees the book clutched tightly in his hands.

"I see you found out," he says softly, smile as gentle as the sunset. "Are you mad?"

"I..." Hokuto shakes his head after a moment of gaping, unable to form coherent words. A rush of guilt overwhelms him as he stares at the book in his hands, the book that had shattered it all. "I don't know."

"That's okay," Subaru whispers. "Do you want to listen?"

Hokuto nods, gently; the turmoil beginning to settle with Subaru's presence. "Yes."

"You could call me a shrine deity," he begins, gazing over at the shrine. "My dad was the one in that story. He wanted me to live, you know? In exchange, I have to take care of this shrine, and I can't leave it."

Subaru smiles; tenderly, fondly, wistfully. "I wanted to tell you. I really did, Hokke- you were the first person to come to this temple in so many years. And I thought, maybe, I'd tell you when you got older, but then..." He looks up at the setting sun, choking out the whispered words to the sky. "But then you kissed me, and I couldn't just break your heart like that."

"I love you. I really do," he says, and Hokuto gazes into his tear-stained eyes, searching for the truth. "It sounds stupid, I know. You can tell the world a god fell in love with you. You can leave and never come back if you want."

"No." Hokuto's mind spins, whirling from everything; but this, he knows for certain. "I'm not leaving."

"Hokke-"

"I don't _care_ if you're a god or- or whatever," he breathes, and he isn't going to stop now, even as tears threaten to fall from his cheeks. "I love you. I don't care, about every- everything else."

And Hokuto leans in, pressing a promise to Subaru's lips.

"I'm not going anywhere, Akehoshi."

**Author's Note:**

> man i love this au so much. shrine deity au is my baby... i hope you liked this and thanks for reading!
> 
> twitter [@subahokke](https://twitter.com/subahokke)


End file.
